Lukas 12:38

12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night ¹  and finds them alert, ²  blessed are those slaves! ³ 

Lukas 14:15

The Parable of the Great Banquet

14:15 When ⁴  one of those at the meal with Jesus ⁵  heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone ⁶  who will feast ⁷  in the kingdom of God!” ⁸ 

Lukas 23:29

23:29 For this is certain: ⁹  The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’ ¹⁰ 

[12:38]  ¹ sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.

[12:38]  ² tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.

[12:38]  ³ tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[14:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “whoever” (the indefinite relative pronoun). This has been translated as “everyone who” to conform to contemporary English style.

[14:15]  ⁷ tn Or “will dine”; Grk “eat bread.” This refers to those who enjoy the endless fellowship of God’s coming rule.

[14:15]  ⁸ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[23:29]  ⁹ tn Grk “For behold.”

[23:29]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed!”

[23:29]  sn Normally barrenness is a sign of judgment, because birth would be seen as a sign of blessing. The reversal of imagery indicates that something was badly wrong.